


The Disciples

by Failinhearts



Series: The Disciples Saga [2]
Category: Hyperdimension Neptunia, Lego Ninjago, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Marvel, Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types, Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Character Interpretation, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Comedy, Crossover, Dimension Travel, F/F, Franchises Added Over Time, Metafiction, Original Character(s), Self-Discovery, War, characters added over time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24561760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Failinhearts/pseuds/Failinhearts
Summary: There are two types of realms in existence: The Real, and the Fictional.And when a force of evil threatens to bring Reality to its knees, only one group can stand in their way: The Disciples, an interdimensional army dedicated to bringing peace for the fictional realm.For years, they have fought this endless war... but with the arrival of an unlikely chosen one, the war escalates to new heights.Follow Sayaka Miki as she discovers her true place in the world and become the hero she was written to be.It's time to rise.
Relationships: Akemi Homura/Kaname Madoka
Series: The Disciples Saga [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726861
Comments: 8
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1: Eternal Beginnings

**MUSIC: _SIS PUELLA MAGICA –_ PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA**

* * *

Clouds.

Clusters of air, bundled in the clear blue sky, travelling across an endless sea of possibilities. They fly suspended in a state of tranquility, looking over the chaos below.

It is in those clouds Magical Girls say… is where the Law of Cycles resides.

The Law of Cycles, the place where all Magical Girls go when their time is up. When their Soul Gem, the source of their magic... and house for their soul darkens with despair, their savior Madoka takes them to a better place.

She is a caring god, protector of the wishes they sold their life for at the sacrifice of her human existence. No more, will girls suffer and become monsters after all they have done.

Instead, they go to the clouds, where only peace remains and their stories finally end as their divine champion lies in her quarters, eyes closed.

Her silky white dress and long pink hair flows in the never-ending starry space, looking over memories of a life long gone.

“…Homura…”

“Hey, um, am I interrupting anything?” A voice calls out, snapping Madoka out of her meditation. Her golden eyes loses its omnipresent dilation to return to the present moment.

“O-Oh, Sayaka. It’s okay!” She smiles, looking at her childhood friend as her spiritual form materializes.

Her hair is a bright blue, matching her azure eyes. Clad in the white caped knight-esque outfit she wore as a Magical Girl, her face slowly morphs into that of worrisome understanding.

“Thinking about home again, huh?”

Madoka clicks her tongue before letting out a friendly chuckle. “You… can always see through me, can you?”

“Heh.” Sayaka couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, herself. “Of course, I can! You may be god, but I know the real you!”

Playfully, the bluenette pokes Madoka’s cheek, bringing the goddess back to the times where they walk home from school and being teased by the tomboy. “Come on, Sayaka! Stop it!” She laughs, softly slapping Sayaka’s hand away.

Sayaka pulls her arm away, folding it. “So, what are you thinkin’ about? Or was I right on the money?”

“No, no, you’re right.” Madoka confesses. “I was just thinking about Homura again. She cried for me again, today…”

Sayaka lets out a sympathetic huff. “I don’t blame her, honestly, after all the crap she went through to save you…”

Madoka slowly nods, standing up and floating in the black space.

“Do you… regret leaving her behind?”

Madoka glances over to Sayaka, silent for a brief moment in contemplation. “I don’t. I was able to save all of you from becoming Witches, right? We’ll see each other again one day… we both just have to hang on.”

Sayaka nods, letting out a little shrug. “Yeah. Sorry about asking about that.”

She lets a sheepish laugh before Madoka asks her own question.

“What about you?”

Sayaka blinks. “Wuh? Me?”

“Yeah, I mean… You’ve only been here for a while, must be hard… leaving everyone behind.” Madoka clarifies.

* * *

**MUSIC: _DECRETUM_ – PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA**

* * *

Sayaka exhales slowly, grinding her teeth. “D-Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

“Sayaka…” Madoka sighs. “If you could see through me, I can definitely see through you.” Her eyes narrow, determined to get an honest answer.

“You got me there…” Sayaka admits with a small pout. “I just… feel like it’s too soon.”

“Too soon? But…”

“Like, I know, I know. Kyosuke’s playing violin now, and I’m not killing people as a Witch but… Sometimes I think I should’ve done more.” Sayaka shakes her head. “I’ve been a Magical Girl for… what, a month every timeline before I kick the bucket?”

She rubs her forehead in frustration. “I swore I could be a hero… like Mami, and here I am, failing to do that.”

“Sayaka…” Madoka reaches out to grip Sayaka’s hand. “You _are_ a hero, though! You’ve stopped dozens of Witches, and Wraiths!”

Sayaka looks down at the hand behind held by the goddess’ gentle touch. “I really appreciate what you do, Madoka… really, I do.”

“I know you do, Sayaka…” Madoka nods.

“I just wish I had one more chance to do something with my life…” Sayaka sighs. “I feel like… well, an idiot sometimes…”

The two stand in silence together for a while, before Sayaka snaps out of her own self-pity. “O-Oh, right!”

She points to her left, despite there being nothing but stars. “Nagisa made something she wanted you to see. You better check it out, it’s pretty cute.”

Madoka lets out a small giggle. “Alright! I’ll check it out!”

The two dissolve from the starry space into the bright and cloudy afterlife of the Law of Cycles. Standing before them is Nagisa, putting the final touches on something as her back faces the two girls.

“Alright, Nags. We’re here!” Sayaka announces.

“Hang on…! One more touch aaaand!”

The small girl with silver hair and a small poncho-like uniform performs a playful twirl and presents a cloudy construction of a young girl with ribbons holding up her puffy hair.

“Wow, it’s…!” Madoka exclaims.

“A cloudman of you!” Nagisa announces. “Think I got the looks right? It’s a bit harder than making a snowman, but I did it!”

“It looks lovely.” Madoka grins. “Me and Tatsuya used to make snowmen of Mama and Papa all the time…”

Sayaka glances over at Madoka, noticing her tone of voice. She reaches out slightly, before…

…Darkness.

The once peaceful light blue sky flickers into a dark grey.

* * *

**MUSIC: _MELODY POND –_ DOCTOR WHO: SERIES 6**

* * *

“What’s going on?!” Sayaka shouts, hastily looking around.

“I’ve never seen the sky ever go dark before!” Nagisa gasps.

The three turn around, noticing the clusters of Magical Girls in a panic. They stare at Madoka, asking questions and crying for help.

“I’ve… never seen anything like this before, either…” Madoka bites her lip.

“That’s… not a good sign!” Sayaka exclaims. “Madoka, get the other girls somewhere safe! I’ll take a look around!”

Nagisa tilts her head. “What SAFE place? There’s nothing but clouds here!”

Sayaka however dashes off, following the sky to notice that the further she goes, the darker it gets.

“Sayaka, wait!” Madoka floats after her noble friend. “You need to get back! I’ll figure this out.”

Sayaka slowly shakes her head. “We’ll go together, then.”

The goddess agrees as they venture forth, noticing that the darkness in the sky is gradually giving way for a slight golden glow, getting brighter.

Eventually, the two arrive at the core of the suspicious glow.

“What… are these?” Madoka gasps.

“I have no clue…” Sayaka answers, just as bewildered.

Standing before them are six golden lights, shining so bright they’re obscuring the features of what these objects really are.

Sayaka reaches out to grab it, but only finds her hands passing through the glow, touching nothing. “It doesn’t seem hurtful…”

She steps back, looking at Madoka, who stares at Sayaka. “Sayaka… you…”

“I what?” Sayaka asks before looking down, seeing her whole form glow a faint gold. “Whoa, what?! What’s happening to my soul?”

_“SAYAKA MIKI…”_

Six voices echo in her head, speaking her name. “They’re calling out for me…!”

“I don’t hear anything!” Madoka says.

_“…SAYAKA…”_

_“…YOU ARE THE ONE…”_

“I am… the one…?”

The lights start to slowly gather, coming together and spinning. They slowly form a circle as a strong gust of wind suddenly pushes Sayaka forward.

“Gah!”

“Sayaka!” Madoka grips onto Sayaka’s arm, trying to keep her in place.

The circle opens up, revealing a glowing blue vortex, amplifying the wind’s strength as it sweeps Sayaka off her feet.

Grunting, Sayaka attempts to grip at the clouds for support, but the cotton-like support melts away as she slides closer to the vortex rapidly. “Madoka! Help!”

“Sayaka, hang on!” Madoka stretches her arm out, trying to grab Sayaka’s desperately flailing hand.

Their hands inch closer and closer to meeting, with both girls’ expressions strained with effort and exhaustion as the wind pulls Sayaka away, and pushes Madoka out.

“I’ll… protect you…!” Madoka gasps.

However, it’s too late. With one final gust of wind, Sayaka is whisked away, speeding away from Madoka and sinks into the vortex’s depths. “MADOKAAAA!”

“SAYAKA, NO!” Madoka yells as her friend disappears into the darkness. She rushes towards the circle in an attempt to dive in after the bluenette only to have the portal fade away.

Madoka falls to her knees as the sky returns to its stark blue, mouth agape. “Sayaka…”

“…Sayaka…!”

* * *

**MUSIC: _BENEATH THE MASK_ –SPIDER-MAN (PS4)**

* * *

Meanwhile, Sayaka flies through the flashing blue tunnel. Her screams ceased as her soul falls into slumber. Her glowing soul form flickers as flesh slowly covers it, creating her human body once more. Her Magical Girl outfit dissolves, becoming the Mitakihara School Uniform she wore daily as Sayaka Miki is restored to life.

Eventually, the tunnel opens up and launches Sayaka out, skyrocketing into a grassy field like a missile. Her golden glow covers her new body as she crashes into the dirt.

_WHAM!_

The dust clears as Sayaka slowly opens her eyes, her glow fading. “Uuugh…”

She lets out a stiff cough, wincing at the taste of dirt in her mouth. “Disgusting…”

“…Disgusting…?!”

Sayaka sits up, frisking herself. “I can taste?!” She stares down, noticing her old getup. “Soul Gem!”

She looks at her hand… No ring. Her eyes dart around, looking for anything shining blue. For an extra precaution out of pure disbelief, she closes her eyes… sensing for her soul…

…Nothing. Her eyes snap open.

“I’m… alive. I’m human…!”

She gets on her feet, wobbling slightly as her legs adjust. She takes her first steps into the grass, observing her surroundings. “Madoka? Nagisa?! Uhh… Joan?! Cleopatra! Anyone?!”

She hears nothing… aside from the faint chirping of birds and cars zooming past a nearby road. Sayaka walks forward, following the road to notice that it leads to a nearby city.

 _“That doesn’t look like Mitakihara… Where am I?”_ She thinks to herself.

Eventually after a couple minutes, she comes across a sign leading to the city with a message written on it:

_WELCOME TO STATION SQUARE!_

_POPULATION: 2.8 MILLION_

“Station… Square…” Sayaka reads, squinting. “That’s English…”

Her eyes widen, coming to a realization regarding her upbringing as a Japanese schoolgirl. “Wait a minute, how can I speak English?!”

Her body flares up again with gold light. “This power… is this why?”

Before she could draw a conclusion, a light shines over Sayaka. She freezes for a moment, looking up.

“What the fu-“

Cars veer away, the drivers screaming in fear at the sight above them.

Casting its shadow across the plains is a massive grey ship hovering in the sky, a glowing hole at the bottom highlighting Sayaka. Slowly, it starts to pick up the girl.

“Hey! Hey! What?!” Sayaka tries to grab the sign to pull her back down, but with no avail. “Not again…!”

“HEEEELP!”

* * *

_Sayaka Miki… A girl born in a cruel and unforgiving world._

_A desperate hero, wanting to fight for love and justice… torn apart by her grief and selfishness._

_A girl with no place in her world… Destined to die._

_But today, destiny will be rewritten, fates will be changed, sides will be taken…_

_…And her purpose will be found: To be a **Disciple.**_


	2. Chapter 2: Broken Spirit

* * *

**MUSIC: _THE KNIGHT SHIP_ – TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION**

* * *

“Unnh…”

As she wakes, Sayaka feels cool gusts of wind blowing through her hair. She shivers slightly at the freezing sensation while opening her eyes. All she can see is darkness, with whatever is actually visible obscured by blurriness thanks to her adjusting eyes.

With another groan, Sayaka smacks the side of her head with the palm of her hand which seems to be just enough to snap her vision back to normal.

“W…What?”

Greeting Sayaka is a set of steel bars. The girl slowly crawls away from them, her backside meeting against the cold steel wall behind her. She instantly turns around, noticing that every side of her is blocked off.

Trapped.

All she can think about is… why? How? Most importantly, however…

“Who?!” She asks aloud. “Who’s there?! Let me out!”

Sayaka desperately looks to her left, noticing another cell. Sitting there is what appears to a humanoid machine, rusted beyond repair with no signs of activity.

She then turns to her right, hoping for better luck. Instead, she sees a human in dusty white armor… Although human may be a bit generous.

He seems malnourished, his armor greatly outsizing his thin figure.

She hastily grabs the bars to her right, gripping onto them as her head peers through the gap. “Hey…! Wake up!”

Nothing.

“…Wake up!”

Still nothing, Sayaka looks down in discouragement only to see a steel pipe. Grabbing it and reaching out beyond her cage, she pokes the helmeted head of the man…

_SNAP!_

…Only to see the helmet fall off the body, head included. That was nothing more than a rotting corpse.

“What the f-“ Sayaka gasps, immediately dropping the pipe with a loud _CLANG!_

“Help! Someone get me outta here!” She cries out.

Almost as if someone is answering the call, a distant door opens up vertically. A very, very large door.

Honestly, it’s more like as if the wall in front of her decided to fly upwards.

Coming out from a now visible hallway are three figures. One rather small, probably half of Sayaka’s size. The second figure being tall and lanky with an oversized hat, and the final…

…Absolutely gigantic.

Sayaka could only gulp at the thought of that thing stepping on her… whatever it is.

“There she is.” The massive figure says. “Picked her up near the entrance of the city.”

“And look at that, she’s awake.”

Sayaka bites her lip, but immediately forces her face to undergo a more angry, annoyed expression. “W-Who are you?!”

The lanky figure walks closer, what little light remains in the room illuminating his features for Sayaka to see.

His skin is blue, his eyes a pupil-less red. Something about his texture… seems off. It’s nothing like Sayaka has ever seen.

_Shouldn’t he have black outlines around him…?_

Sayaka looks at her hands to compare before pausing.

_Wait… Did I always have black outlines? Everyone does where I came from…_

She looks back to the field and cars that passed by her not too long before her abduction. Even they had those outlines. It’s almost like he had a completely different…

“…Artstyle…” Sayaka mutters on instinct.

“Hmm… She’s just a child.” The blue man says, his voice synthesized and filtered. “It seems like she’s already awakening to her Fourth Vision.”

He kneels to Sayaka, tipping his hat upwards so she can get a better look at his face. “Hello, girly. Mind giving us your name?”

Sayaka glares at the man, her lips shut.

He chuckles. “Want me to start? Alright, then. My name… is Cad Bane. Now that I shared mine, would you be so kind to tell me yours, little lady?”

“…Sayaka. Sayaka Miki.” She growls back.

Cad lets out a smile, showing off his gruesome yellow teeth. “There we go, now we’re getting to know each other.”

He then steps away, turning to the small creature. “Her name’s Sayaka Miki. I’ll register her in the database and dig up whatever I could find.”

“She’s all yours.”

Letting out a devious chuckle, Cad Bane walks away now armed with the knowledge of Sayaka’s name.

That was enough to get Sayaka mad. “What the hell?! You just wanted to get my name?”

“Feisty one, too.” Cad says to the large robot.

“I like that in a catch, makes things exciting.” The robot chuckles alongside him.

The smallest figure holds out his hand, two immediately growing silent at his gesture. “You’ve done well, Cad and Lockdown. You managed to actually get to her before _they_ could.”

“I’ve prepared the Knight Ship for this very moment, my lord.” The black robot now known as _Lockdown_ replies, his uncanny human-like face lets out a satisfied smirk. “All the years of preparation for her arrival has been worth it.”

“Preparation? My arrival?!” Sayaka blurts out. “C-Can any of you explain why the hell am I here?!”

“Did you take me away from the Law of Cycles?!” She accuses.

“Law of Cycles… never heard of it.” Cad says.

The small figure holds out his hand yet again. “You two, prepare your forces. No more banter, they’ll be here any second.”

The two lackeys salute.

“Yes, sir!” They said in unison, turning and leaving the room. Sayaka could only stare at awe with how easily they obeyed him.

Now there are only two, as Sayaka takes the time to register who’s in front of her, standing outside the cell.

Unlike Cad and Lockdown, outlines highlighted his purple crystalline body which is circular in shape. He resembled a ball with arms and legs. Frankly, he doesn’t appear nearly as threatening as either Cad nor Lockdown.

…Which the fact that they obey him without question only scares her more.

His massive red eyes illuminate the dark, bringing to light his three spines and wizard-like hat almost fused to his body.

“After all these years… you’ve finally come.” The figure says. “And of all the people, all the heroes that could’ve been chosen…”

“…They chose a quivering. Little. Girl.”

His claws make their way to Sayaka’s chin, tilting her up. “Law of Cycles, huh? That makes you sound important, though. Why don’t you tell me about it, Sayaka?”

“…How about you give me your name first, like your little blue friend over there?” Sayaka says through gritted teeth.

His figure’s face darkens. “Attitude. Now it makes a bit more sense. Your hair color should’ve given that away.”

His hand pushes Sayaka arrive, his patience clearly being tested. “You will call me Mephiles. Mephiles… The Dark.”

Sayaka dusts herself off from the shove, noticing that she hit a nerve. “Edgy name there…” She pants. “Should I order you a gothic Lolita dress to go with it?”

“Oh, you’d better work on your material, child.” Mephiles spits back. His hand then grasps the steel bars. “I’ll ask again now, Law of Cycles. Tell me.”

“It’s where Magical Girls go when their Soul Gem is tainted enough with darkness. My friend saves them from death… she’s a god.” Sayaka answers.

“So what, does that make you some kind of angel?” Mephiles asks. “Does that imply you died?”

“…Maybe.” Sayaka slowly responds. “I’ve only been a Magical Girl for a month and…”

Mephiles chuckles even more, evolving into a brief laugh. “Oh, that’s rich! A corpse fell down from the sky to rise again…”

His hand slowly starts to shift, the crystals forming an axe as it peers through the gaps. “That should mean I’ll have no problems killing you again…!”

“You must be a real idiot to die at such a young age. Even for a… Magical Girl, as you so call it.”

Sayaka’s confident leg up on the small sorcerer instantly cracks. “I… I don’t regret what I did…!”

“What you did…” Mephiles says. “Or maybe what you were forced to do, more like?”

Sayaka’s eyebrows furrow. “I-I wasn’t forced to do anything! I made the choice to be a Magical Girl…!”

Mephiles frowns. “That’s what I thought too. That’s what we all thought, our choices were our own.”

“Our failures, our wins, lives saved, lives loss… all hinge on us, yeah? No.”

His voice begins to grumble, his anger rising. “Everything you have ever done up until now has been controlled by an unmerciful god!”

“Madoka wouldn’t…!” Sayaka immediately refutes, before being countered back.

“I’m not talking about your friend, fool!” Mephiles lashes out. “They’ve been controlling her, too!”

Sayaka puts her hands to her chest. What is he even going on about? Is this true, even?

“So let me be straight, and to the point. Join me, and I’ll give you a second chance at life. There’s a great power in you, Sayaka.” Mephiles reasons. “Let us harness it together and take back what is ours!”

“And if I don’t?” Sayaka asks.

“I’ll send you back to the grave where you belonged.” Mephiles bluntly states. “And this time, there will be no god to save you.”

Sayaka looks down, weighing her options… although it didn’t take long to make her choice. “Look, I’ve seen this cliché done over and over again on TV… I don’t know who you are, or what you want from me, but you’re clearly bad!”

“…So that’s a no.”

Mephiles closes his eyes…

“…An expected outcome.”

* * *

**MUSIC: _THE DARK AND ENDLESS DALEK NIGHT_ – DOCTOR WHO**

* * *

With a powerful slash, the steel bars fall apart. Sayaka only had precious milliseconds do dodge as Mephiles lunges forward.

With all the adrenaline she could muster, Sayaka rolls on the ground, narrowly missing the hedgehog’s opening assault. Mephiles smashes against the wall before turning around with a menacing growl.

“…I’ll break your spirits. I’ll break your heart. And I’ll break. Your. Bones!”

Desperately, Sayaka gets on her feet and closes her eyes. “Transform…!”

She tries to search within herself for her magical power, to no avail. “No… Why can’t I fight him?!”

“You want to know why?!” Mephiles then spins into Sayaka, knocking her back and her head hitting another cell. “You’re an insignificant character!”

“I’m…!” Sayaka manages to gasp out before having her throat grasped by his hand.

“No! You don’t know what you are, but I bet I do. Only a plot device would die so soon!” Mephiles barks back.

Sayaka squirms before kicking her legs forward, hitting Mephiles in the eyes. However, despite how big they are, they don’t seem to hurt.

Rather, it hurt Sayaka’s feet instead. “Ow…!”

“Do you remember now? Maybe your precious Madoka made you forget! You’re weak! You’re pathetic!” Mephiles growls, punching Sayaka in the face repeatedly. “The weapons surely must’ve made a mistake with you!”

“I…” Sayaka could only choke out, her body violently shaking in desperation with tears in her eyes.

“Say it!” Mephiles shouts, delivering another punch.

“Ugh…! I…” Sayaka whimpers.

“SAY IT!” Mephiles yells, whacking her again.

“I… I’m weak…! I’m an idiot…!” Sayaka gasps out. “I just wanna go home…!”

“NOW DIE!” Mephiles shouts out, raising his reformed axe arm for the final blow.

“AAAAH!” Sayaka screams out, her body glowing a furious gold before bursting in a blinding light covering the entire cell.

_BOOM!_


	3. Chapter 3: Disciples Rising

_Meanwhile…_

The steel coated Knight Ship hovers beyond the borders of the city of Station Square, above the forest with a conspicuous crater. Screams and calls for help from the citizens of the neighbouring city litter the streets at the sight of a massive enemy warship.

The ship opens up, bird-like robots release from their confines and soar through the city’s skies, droning across and scouting the perimeter.

 _“Lord Mephiles is going to execute the girl. Make sure nobody interferes.”_ Lockdown transmits to the small armada. _“Kill all threats on sight.”_

“Roger, Roger.” All the Vulture Droids say in unison and compliance.

As they swoop down into the city’s streets and arrive at ground level, their wings point downwards to become a set of legs. Cowering citizens hide for cover behind parked cars and alleyways while the Vulture Droids scan the area.

Minutes pass as no hostilities are found… that is until one Droid looks up to see a spark of light rippling in the sky above.

“Rift activity detected!” A Droid warns.

The ripple starts to grow, forming a blue hole in the clouds. Electricity crackles from the vortex, a high pitched noise echoing across the atmosphere.

Slowly, a giant flying ship comes into view. It’s grey and sleek, with giant turbines holding it up in the air and a long runway on the top: The Helicarrier.

Atop the Helicarrier, a massive door opens at the front as a speaker calls out to the personnel on board.

_“Metarex detected! Prepare for battle!”_

* * *

“Alright, guys! Look sharp, and find whoever fell!” A voice commands, his feet stepping forward as he approaches the open hatch leading to the skies above. “The Metarex may have beaten us to the punch, but we’ll have the last laugh. Got it?”

“Yes, sir!” A group of voices reply.

“In that case… let’s rock and roll!”

**MUSIC: _FREE_ – SONIC FREE RIDERS**

Running out the door and performing a brief mid-air roll into a skydive, the voice reveals himself in the sunlight.

Clad in only red shoes and gloves is a small blue sphere-like creature with three flowing spines. His eyes are big with green pupils and topped off with a cocky smirk. His appearance is different, but his name? All too familiar.

_Sonic The Hedgehog._

One by one, more and more people skydive with Sonic. The hedgehog’s eyes however fixate themselves on the giant warship across town.

“Alright, Disciples! Let’s take out that ship!” Sonic calls out. He then curls up, spinning into a ball as he approaches the ground. With a resounding bump and a short hop, Sonic uncurls and places his palm on the driveway of the bustling cityscape.

He looks up, noticing the swarm of Vulture Droids zooming towards the hedgehog. Two other figures then fall next to him.

One is a woman in a black bodysuit with glowing blue accents, her braided purple locks blowing in the wind with digital wings behind her. With a flip of her hair, she summons a massive violet sword fitting of her form’s name: _Purple Heart_.

The other is a man clad in white and blue _Clone Trooper_ armor, wearing a helmet concealing his face. He reloads his Blaster.

“Looks like Mephiles brought out the small fry for now, but not for long.” Sonic calls them. “Neptune, you’re with me! Trace, you’ll work with the others to protect the citizens!”

Whipping out his own sword, a large silver blade with a glowing green line brimming with magic across it, Sonic flashes a small grin.

“Yes, let’s move before it’s too late.” Purple Heart, also named Neptune nods.

“It’ll be done, general.” Trace adjusts his helmet, preparing to go.

Sonic gestures to Purple Heart as he runs forward, the goddess flying behind him. Noticing the two rushing towards the Knight Ship, the Vulture Droids swoop down for attack. Sprouting a pair of blasters, laser blasts begin opening fire at the two.

With perfect timing, Sonic and Purple Heart spin their swords at rapid speeds, reflecting the blaster bolts back at the two droids and blowing them up. Veering to the right of the driveway, Sonic jumps atop a parked truck’s hood and then springs off to reach new heights. Stabbing his sword into an unsuspecting Vulture Droid, he then kicks it into oblivion while jumping off.

Holding his hand out, he waves it slightly. Taking the cue, Purple Heart flies ahead and grabs Sonic, the two soaring through the sky for a brief moment before noticing a Vulture Droid aiming at a cowering family. Letting go of the hedgehog, Sonic spins into the Droid just in time, saluting to the saved innocents.

“T-Thank you, Sonic! You really are this city’s hero!” The mother exclaims gratefully.

“Just doin’ our job!” Sonic smirks before running back down the mission path. He zooms past a set of Droids being taken down by more of his team that dropped down with him.

One droid is vaporized by a powerful fireball by none other than _Spyro The Dragon_ , while another is tackled and beaten by _Captain Falcon_ with a flaming Falcon Punch.

“Looking good there, guys!” Sonic calls out as he swiftly passes by.

“Thanks, but you better get moving!” Spyro tells Sonic, pointing ahead. “It’s only a matter of time before they kill..."

Sonic exhales a bit. “Right, right! Gotta move…!” He rushes forward once again, Neptune trailing behind as well.

He runs up a skyscraper at hypersonic speeds, his feet stopping at an electronic billboard before rebounding off several box-like Micromanagers in the sky, knocking them onto other rooftops.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cad Bane peers away from a pair of built in binoculars from the Knight Ship’s cockpit. “They’re making mincemeat of the droids… Faster than I expected. It’s time to bring out the bigger guns.”

“Of course.” Lockdown nods. “Let’s not make them feel too cocky.”

The giant robot then flicks a switch on the main controls, the cockpit flashing blue.

* * *

_BWAAAAN!_

_BWAAAAAAAAN!_

Sonic skids to a halt resuming his dash down the road, Purple Heart landing beside him.

“Here comes the backup.” Purple Heart grimaces.

“No time to worry about them! Let’s keep going, Nep!” Sonic exclaims, his feet already on the move.

A series of beams descend from the sky, landing in a flash revealing robots of all shapes and sizes: Slim Battle Droids, bulky Vehicons and mystical Arkeyans which litter the city.

 _“Don’t let them get any further!”_ Cad Bane orders through their heads.

Drawing their respective weapons, they take aim at the growing group of defenders.

Holding his stance, Commander Trace aims his blaster at a Vehicon, firing a Blaster Bolt through the head. “Clear the road!” He commands as a fireball flies across the sky, setting a Battle Droid aflame before being punched into the atmosphere by the _Hulk_ , spare limbs flailing in the wind.

“Hulk HATE twig-robots!”

Flying to his side is a red Ninja, _Kai_. Letting out a sigh before releasing more fire onto a gathering of enemy machines.

“Is there anything you don’t hate?” He asks.

“Hulk HATE being questioned about his tastes!” He growls back.

Eventually, the fire pushes aside and quickly dissolve before harming any of the surroundings thanks to a powerful gust of wind. Coming out is Sonic, holding a glowing hand out, channeling the air around him.

He leaps up to grab Purple Heart’s hand, lifting him up before dropping him atop a trailer of a flat-nosed red truck. “Here they come, Prime!” Sonic knocks on the trailer’s surface, notifying the robot hidden within.

A compartment in the trailer opens up behind Sonic, a turret emerging from the hatch. As it opens fire at a group of airborne Arkeyan Bombers, Sonic leaps off Optimus to resume his run, slashing at robot after robot.

“Is that the best you got?!” Sonic grins.

_THUD!_

Slamming onto the floor, creating a small tremor onto the cracking road, a massive Vehicon imposes itself over Sonic.

“…Guess that’s a no.” Sonic huffs, before snapping his fingers.

Letting out a garbled cry, it lunges forward towards Sonic before suddenly pausing in its tracks.

_“GKH…!”_

The Decepticon grunt looks downwards, noticing a blade piercing its stomach. Eventually, it falls to its knees and dissolves to reveal Purple Heart cleaning her sword.

“You okay?” She asks.

“Not a scratch on me. Now come on, we’re almost there!” Sonic smiles.

The duo look to the sky, the ship being nothing more than a few feet away.

“Agreed, let’s g-“

Before Purple Heart could finish, a massive golden explosion goes off near the ship, smoke seeping through the back.

_BOOM!_

The sound echoes through the city, spreading far and wide in a deafening burst.

“Wha…? Is that?” Purple Heart gasps.

“Yup. They’re still alive and kicking. Let’s make sure it still stays that way!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Disciples have finally arrived! If you noticed, the tone has taken a wild change. Don't worry, this is on purpose. Think of it like Madoka's tonal shift... in reverse.
> 
> But there'll be more to this as worlds collide.


	4. Chapter 4: Duel For Her Fate

The Knight Ship sputters, adjusting to the sudden gaping hole in its hull. Smoke tinged with a gold aura flows from the exposed areas like the aftermath of a fireworks show.

“Could one person really have caused all that?” Purple Heart gasps, soaring through the air like a rocket.

“Apparently so! Now pick up the pace!” Sonic exclaims mid-run.

Following the two approaching heroes are the remaining Disciples, catching up after disposing of the remaining threats.

Trace sits atop Optimus Prime’s trailer, cooling his blaster with a swift flick of the arm. His eyes lock with the smoking area of the Knight Ship. His visor zooms in like a camera lens, magnifying the extent of the damage. In his vision, he notices his helmet’s display highlighting a falling figure with a lock-on reticle.

Alarmed, he hastily, places his fingers on a button on the side of his helmet.

At that moment, Sonic’s watch flickers. He whips his wrist out to stare at the hologram forming soundwaves.

_“Sir! Someone’s fallen off the ship. I think it’s…”_

“Say no more!” Sonic grits his teeth, covering the watch with his palm. He proceeds to push his feet to the limits, taking off like a rocket. In an instant, Sonic goes from being in Station Square’s bustling and chaos riddled streets into the blowing grass below the giant enemy warship.

Sonic’s pupils dart upward, noticing a figure cry for help in free-fall. Without hesitation, Sonic stomps on the ground and his eyes glow a pure white with his green pupils no longer visible. A gust of wind circles around his body, his spines flowing violently as a result.

The wind eventually shoots upward, leaves and blades of grass caught in the ascent. Travelling through the atmosphere, it eventually catches up to the falling girl and ceasing her leadup to a potentially fatal crash.

The body grows slack, drained both physically and emotionally, letting the air gently carry her down. Finally calming, Sonic’s controlled wind lays her down where he can get a good look at this mysterious figure.

Wearing a beige school uniform and now unkempt blue hair, Sayaka Miki slowly breathes in exhaustion.

“…Huh.” Sonic could only comment, looking down at the girl with his eyes restoring to normal. “Welcome to the party, new girl.” He smirks.

“Sonic!” Purple Heart calls out. Turning around, the hedgehog notices the other Disciples arrive on the scene.

Screeching across the grass, Optimus halts to give Trace the chance to hop off the trailer as it opens up. “Are they okay?”

“ _She_.” Sonic points out. “It’s a girl… and yeah, she’s alive.”

Trace steps forward, removing his helmet to get a better look, revealing the same scruffy, stern face of Jango Fett as all Clones, aside from a crescent moon tattoo over his eye. “…She wasn’t what I was expecting.”

“What were you expecting?” Sonic glances at the commander.

“Definitely not a schoolgirl. What were _you_ expecting?” Trace asks.

“Someone at least a bit taller than me. So, she fits the bill.” Sonic lets out a small chuckle.

Purple Heart kneels down, observing the bluenette. “So she’s the Golden One? I can’t believe the day has come…”

“Didn’t think our new leader is gonna be an anime girl in a school uniform, but eh, what do I know?” Iron Man rubs his metallic hands. “Taking orders from a rodent ain’t that bad, after all.”

“Thanks for the compliment?” Sonic shrugs before standing up. “But now’s not the time for chit-chat.”

The four look up at the ship above them. Sonic steps forward and calls out.

“Mephiles, you in there?! Thanks for the special delivery! Mind if I head up there and sign my name on your forms, or what?”

He flaunts his sword as it rematerializes in his hand. “Got the pen right here.”

As Sonic taunts, Sayaka’s eyes slowly flutter open. “Unnh…”

Echoing from the speakers hidden within the Knight Ship, Mephiles’ voice responds.

_“Disciples… Sonic… I suspect you’re quite enjoying the new arrival.”_

“What can we say?” Sonic shouts back. “We’ve been preparing for this moment for years, now! We wouldn’t miss this for the world!”

_“Funny, I was planning to deliver her to you right after I was done.”_

“Lemme guess, in a bodybag?” Spyro growls.

 _“You know me too well.”_ Mephiles chuckles. _“Doesn’t mean I can’t do the deed late now, can I?”_

A hatch underneath the ship slowly folds open. _“Lockdown! Kill her!”_

“What, not coming to finish her off yourself?” Sonic chuckles. “Someone lacks dedication.”

_“At least to buy me time… hah… Your new friend caused enough trouble today as is.”_

The hatch fully opens up as Lockdown crashes down and loading his massive rifle. “Stay out of the way, or you’ll be targets too!”

“Eyes peeled, Disciples!” Sonic exclaims. “Don’t let him sh-“

* * *

**MUSIC: SCORPONOK - _TRANSFORMERS_**

* * *

“Sonic?” Purple Heart gasps, pointing backwards.

Stumbling to her feet, Sayaka pants with a hand on her knee in exhaustion. “Someone… seriously explain what’s going on!”

“We’ll answer everything you wanna know, but right now get to safety!” Sonic hastily shouts.

“W-Wait! I-“ Sayaka reaches out, however is stopped by a massive bullets hell being set off only a couple feet in front of her. “Gah!”

“You won’t get any answers if you don’t survive, kid! Get down, his scope’s on you!” Iron Man scolds. “Optimus, have her back!”

With a final puff of his smokestacks, the red cab starts to change form. Twisting and turning, the Autobot takes his true form as a robot. Scooping Sayaka up in his massive blue hands, Optimus Prime maintains focus on Lockdown.

“Stay with me, child.” Optimus tells Sayaka looking down at the alarmed girl. “I will protect you at all costs.”

“O-Okay…” Sayaka bites her lip nervously, nodding.

“I’m sure a lot has happened to you, and you’re lost.” He continues to assure in a gentle voice. “Just trust us, and you’ll be safe.”

“I-I don’t know what’s happening…” Sayaka gasps, her hands clutching the red bow above her chest in an attempt to cope. “Am I… really nothing?”

“…What did Mephiles tell you?” Prime asks, his voice growing more irritated at what Mephiles could have done to this young girl.

There wasn’t enough time however as the sound of a loaded gun reaches Optimus’ audio receptors.

“I get to take down a Prime, too. Talk about a jackpot!” Lockdown snarls, rifle facing Optimus’ face. Before he could pull the trigger, though, Lockdown stumbles and kneels to the ground. “Agh!”

Instinctively, Lockdown rubs his back, feeling a dent. His head snaps around to see the Hulk roaring after a successful punch.

“Raaaaah!” Hulk screams at Lockdown. “Hulk HATE Hunter Robot!”

“Think we’ll make it that easy? Think again!” Spyro takes flight, charging up a massive flame burst in front of Lockdown’s face to blind his optics.

Using the barrel of his gun to fan away the flames, the gun swats Spyro away before firing another shot at Optimus.

“Look out!” Sayaka shouts out, causing Prime to duck. As she rides Optimus’ palm, she notices Lockdown staggering. “H-He’s still caught off-guard, someone stop him!”

“You heard her! Hold him down, Bruce!” Sonic calls out.

Stomping in response, Hulk jumps up to strike at Lockdown’s dent yet again with a mighty…

_WHAP!_

“Ragh?!” Hulk struggles, caught in a plasma net. Floating out of the ship is Cad Bane in his jet boots. “Now, now. Easy there, big boy.”

Purple Heart flies to Hulk’s aid, sword drawn to face the alien hunter. “Same goes for you too, little lady.”

“Same goes for you, bug-face!” Purple Heart lunges forward with a slash, Cad Bane swiftly avoiding with a brief dive before launching upwards and delivering a swift kick to her stomach.

In the brief window of time when his kick connects, Cad has his blaster aimed at Purple Heart’s forehead and fires, sending her flipping in the air with recoil.

Purple Heart yelps in pain, stabilizing her flight and rubbing her head, black smoke covering it. “Ow…” She groans, wiping her face. “Lucky shot.”

Cad takes the time to fire more blaster bolts at the vulnerable CPU. While suffering a couple shots to the arms, grazing against her skin tight bodysuit, Purple Heart manages to spin her sword to reflect the incoming projectile. She inches closer and closer to cad before delivering a glowing slash to send Cad Bane rocketing towards the ground with a resounding smack.

Down but far from out, the two hunters regain their stance to aim at Sayaka. A flurry of bullets and blaster bolts invade the area. Sonic and Purple Heart use their swords to reflect as much as possible with their swords. All the while, Iron Man uses his digital sword to withstand the giant bullet shells of Lockdown’s rifle.

Unfortunately, not everything was accounted for. A couple hit Prime. The bolts leave visible stains on his blue and red paint while three shells hit the shoulder. Sayaka uncontrollably slips out of Optimus’ grasp, falling to the ground and tumbling across the grass.

“No!” Optimus lunges forward and kneels down. His arm slams on the ground, covering Sayaka like a blockade. “I won’t let you!”

His free arm reaches back to retrieve his trusty Ion Blaster. Firing blasts at the two hunters, Optimus endures the pain of the ensuing fire. Lockdown stumbles, bullets piercing his legs as his aim wavers.

Prime did not have to suffer for long. Sonic spins into Lockdown’s hand, the impact causing the rifle to move aside and lose aim. A shell hits a nearby tree instead, blowing it in half.

“Hands off!” Sonic grips onto the giant rifle, his legs dangling in the air.

“Behind you!” Sayaka shouts out, alerting the hedgehog.

Taking note, Sonic jumps to see Cad Bane sweep by in a failed attempt to fly into him.

“Do that spin thing on those boots!”

Sonic does just that, curling up into a ball and performing a Homing Attack against Cad Bane’s heels. While suffering a couple burns, he manages to break his thrusters.

“You pest…!” Cad Bane growls, falling to the ground.

Sonic falls onto Lockdown’s shoulder and salutes to Cad Bane. “Glad to be one, Caddy.”

Lockdown’s head turns to face Sonic, snarling while the cocky little hedgehog lets out a toothy grin. “What’cha looking at?” He sticks his hand out, charging up a powerful blast. His hand flickers gold.

Sayaka gasps, looking at her own hand. Concentrating, her hand glows the same tint. It hits her, that same creature has the same power she suddenly has.

“What does it mean…?” She pants.

Sonic’s fist slams into Lockdown’s cheek, the sheer power being enough to bring the robot down to his knees.

Hopping out of the smoke, Sonic dusts his gloves. “Chalk another win up to me!” He laughs before turning around to face the two fallen enemies.

Cad crawls up to Lockdown, weak and struggling to move. “I don’t get it… We should’ve brought out A-game for this mission.”

“I don’t know… but we have to fall back for now. We’ll get the girl later.” Lockdown whispers, his eyes beginning to flicker.

Sending a signal to the ship, it summons a tractor beam onto the two enemies, beaming them away in an instant.

“Hey! We aren’t done with you…!” Purple Heart barks back, but it is too late. The Knight Ship begins to take off, lifting into the air and through a growing purple portal.

“Leave them.” Sonic holds his hand out, preventing Purple Heart from stepping forward. “They’re out of our hair for now.”

The group turns around to Optimus, who stands aside to reveal Sayaka in awe, still fixated on her glowing hand.

“…Who are you?” Sayaka asks them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first "boss battle" of the story! Sorry if the battle is a bit rough right now. Trying to use as much as I knew from the years of RPing preparing for this story's release. Hopefully as time goes on, the battles become a lot smoother to follow.


	5. Chapter 5: Introductions

“Who… are you?” Sayaka asks, still a bit wobbly from the events in the Knight Ship with her causing a massive explosion and all.

“That’s the same question I’d like to ask you, bud.” Sonic wags his finger.

The small ball-shaped creature steps forward, holding out his gloved hand for a handshake. “Sonic the Hedgehog, at your service.”

Sayaka hesitates a bit before grasping Sonic’s hand, shaking it. “Sayaka… Miki.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Sayaka!” Sonic grins. “I think we’ll get along just fine!”

“So… wait a minute, you’re Sonic, like the game character?” Sayaka squints her eyes before turning to Optimus Prime. “And you’re… Convoy, right?”

“Optimus Prime.” The giant robot corrects her.

Sayaka puts her hand to her head. “This is crazy… Why am I surrounded by a bunch of cartoon characters I watched when I was a kid?”

She eyes back to Sonic. “You don’t even look like the Sonic I know, though. You look more…”

“Ball-like? Missing a torso? Got blue arms? I look like a candy? I get that a lot.” Sonic huffs. “Look, we can explain all this stuff later but-”

Sayaka doesn’t listen, trying to get acquainted with the others. “And… I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

“I’m a little more obscure. In this form, you may call me Purple Heart…” Purple Heart closes her eyes, glowing. Her form eventually dissolves, revealing in its place is a much younger looking girl.

Her hair is shorter and a light purple, wearing a violet dress and a small white hoodie. “My real name is Neptune! Nice to meetcha, Sayaka!” She gives a playful wave and a contagious smile that eases Sayaka’s nerves.

“Can I finish?” Sonic then says, immediately causing Neptune to step back. She proceeds to make a zipping motion with her mouth. “Thanks.”

“Look, I know you’re confused… and you’re honestly taking things very well, all things considered.” The small hedgehog explains. “What you gotta know, is that you’ve been chosen.”

Sayaka slowly nods in understanding. “Yeah, I remember before I got sucked into some vortex about how I’m the one, or something…”

Sonic lets out a small smirk. “You and me both.”

“Have all of you experienced that?” Sayaka eyes the other Disciples, who don’t respond.

“Nope. It’s just you and me. We’re what’s called _Golden Ones_.” Sonic holds out his hand, showing off that same golden light used against Lockdown.

Sayaka holds out her own, gold flashing through her hand as well. “Golden Ones…”

“We’re the only two people with this power. A little sliver of creation itself. Pretty neat, huh?” Sonic grins.

“So whatever this power is… was this why I was taken from the Law of Cycles?” Sayaka asks.

Sonic’s eyes shift, portraying confusion. “The Law of Wuh?”

“You know… the Law of Cycles. I assume if you know this stuff, you know what that is, right?” Sayaka explains.

Neptune looks up towards the sky, humming. “Hmmmm…. Hmmmmm!”

HMMMMMM! I think I’m getting something!”

“You do?” Sayaka asks enthusiastically.

“…Uh, nope, nevermind. Was thinking of something else. Totally clueless! Yup!”

Sayaka’s expression darkens. “Nice.” She groans sarcastically. “Look, where I come from… I’m dead. But I was an angel, you can say. I was helping to bring Magical Girls to salvation.”

“And then all of a sudden, I got dragged into this place, my human body’s back, I got this weird gold stuff in me, got my life threatened by a purple version of you,” She gestures to Sonic. “And he goes on telling me I’m… nothing!”

Sayaka bites her lip upon remembering the verbal beating she received.

“What kinda world did she come from?” Iron Man turns to Spyro. “Something tells me she’s got one hell of a story to tell.”

“Just…” Sayaka’s cooler demeanor starts to crack, her frustration and confusion reaching a boiling point. “Where am I?!”

Sonic takes a deep breath. There’s the reaction he was expecting. He clasps his hands together. “Well, here? The city back there? That’s Station Square. You can say it’s my home, and I’m the resident superhero.”

“Whatever world you came from, you’re far, far, _far_ away from it now.” He continues. “How about I show you around? Take a load off, okay?”

Sonic points towards the cityscape. “Come on, team. While we’re at it, let’s make sure this city’s doing alright.”

The group begin to walk away from the forest, Sayaka standing still for a brief moment. She folds her arms, still not exactly feeling like she got the answers she’s looking for.

…Not that standing around would make things any clearer. Accepting that, she follows the hedgehog into this new city, questions flowing through her head.

Why are these fictional characters real? Why is this Sonic so different? What are _Golden Ones_ exactly?

She can’t seem to wrap her mind around it all, but one thing’s for certain.

“…I’m not in Mitakihara anymore now, am I?”


	6. Chapter 6: Welcome To Station Square

“So… you guys are called Disciples?” Sayaka asks Sonic as the entire group ventures across the grassy fields on their way to Station Square, “That’s your little team, right?”

“Did she just say our team is little?” Iron Man directs his attention to Hulk, and shrugs.

Hulk only lets out a brief huff of disbelief.

“Disciples’ is the name, yup. Surprised you caught that.” Sonic twirls his finger in acknowledgement.

“It’s one of the few things I could hear with all the noise going on back there.” Sayaka grunts smacking her ears with her palm to readjust her eardrums.

“So… who were those guys you were fighting? What’s going on?”

“Who, the big robot, the blue alien dude, or the crystal hedgehog?” Spyro asks.

“All of them.” Sayaka answers.

“Whoaaaa, hit the breaks, Speed RacerMcQueen!” Neptune exclaims, “If we talk about every person in the Metarex, we’ll be here for the next century!”

“Metarex…” Sayaka gasps out, almost in some form of fear.

“The Metarex are an army of the most sinister minds from across creation,” Sonic explains. “Created only to overthrow, destroy and kill.”

“The Disciples are made to counter them at every turn. That’s what this war is all about.”

“Wait, I’m in the middle of a war?!” Sayaka gasps out, “L-Look… I just want to go back to… well, my world, I guess.”

Sonic glances at Sayaka for a moment, where Sayaka looks at him back, confused.

“Can you… send me back?”

“I mean, we could, probably,” Sonic explains, “It’s just that…”

“…Kid, you’ve been given a rare power. We’re the only two with that,” Sonic holds up his fist, making it flash with that familiar golden glow, “You’ve been chosen to lead the Disciples, you know?”

* * *

**MUSIC: _BEHIND THE MASK –_ SPIDER-MAN (PS4)**

* * *

“Me? Lead… you guys?” Sayaka says.

“Well, you and I, to be specific,” Sonic steps forward, “With the right training, you’ll be the greatest hero in the realm!”

“Hero…” Sayaka puts her hand to her chest, almost in pain. Her eyes close, hearing not just faint echoes of Mephiles in her head… but her own voice as well, from long, long ago.

_“I was stupid… so stupid…”_

“Hey… you okay?” Neptune peers over, snapping her fingers to get Sayaka’s attention.

Sayaka’s eyes snap open, returning to reality, “L-Look, I’m flattered… but I’m not the right person for the job.”

“I don’t know why I have this power, but whatever gave me this power is wrong. I lost all of my other powers anyway, I’ll just be holding everyone back.”

“That’s why we’ll train you. You helped us quite a bit during that fight with Lockdown and Cad, and you didn’t even fight. I think you got the potential to be a Commander.” Trace steps up, nodding.

“No, you don’t understand…” Sayaka rubs her arm, “I’m not hero material, every time I tried… I only make things worse.”

“Whatever you Disciples are… I’m not like you.”

All Disciples stay still, all unsure how to handle what Sayaka said. Even the Hulk could only let out the occasional grunt, but nothing more.

“Uh, hey. Doesn’t mean you could be like us, you know… in time.” Neptune finally speaks up.

“Huh…?” Sayaka mutters.

“Look, you see, I-“ Neptune, however immediately stops in her tracks upon seeing the entry back into the city and losing her train of thought, “Ooh! We’re here! Sonic, Sonic, can I get some Chocolate Chipped Cream Sundae Supreme before we go?!”

Her sudden change in tone and subject catches everyone off-guard, a trickle of embarrassed sweat travels down Sonic’s fur, “O-Okay, sure!” He chuckles, “We gotta check on the damages anyway.”

Skipping away, Neptune hastily makes her way to the nearest ice cream stand… hoping it hasn’t been blown up in the previous battle.

“Sorry, we haven’t been here in a while… So Neptune’s eager to explore again.” Sonic tells Sayaka.

“Isn’t this your home, though?” Sayaka asks.

“Yeah, but I guess you can say it used to be.” Sonic says, taking his first few steps into the bustling metropolis of Station Square. Upon arriving, countless news trucks, reporters and cheering bystanders can be seen swarming the area.

_“Look, there they are!”_

_“It’s the Disciples, oh my god!”_

_“Sonic! Sonic! Over here!”_

_“Who’s that girl? I’ve never seen her before…”_

_“Optimus Prime, a word for our loyal viewers?”_

_“Is that a new Disciple?!”_

_“Tony Stark, sign my replica Arc Reactor!”_

_“Could’ve sworn I saw Neptune run off over there!”_

Sonic holds up his hands, “Aaaand here they come.”

Suddenly, Sayaka finds herself bombarded with countless cameras and microphones in front of her. Back in Mitakihara, she was hardly popular. She only really had three close friends at school, and people found her a bit weird with her oddly comprehensive knowledge of classical music.

Now here she is, swarmed by an eager public asking for her name.

_“Who are you?”_

_“Where did you come from?”_

_“What’s your name?”_

_“What Disciple division are you in?”_

_“Was that explosion you?”_

“Um…!” Sayaka tugs her collar, overwhelmed.

“Alright, alright, quit with the questions! She’s new here, you’re scaring her!” Sonic barks out, shooing the eager reporters away, sending them to question the other Disciples instead.

“You okay there, Sayaka?” The hedgehog asks, tapping her side to get her attention.

Responding to his touch, Sayaka nods. “Yeah, I’m fine… Do you guys deal with this a lot?”

“Mostly in this universe, been protecting this Earth for… about a couple hundred million years now from Mephiles.” Sonic says.

“Mephiles…” Sayaka grits her teeth upon hearing that word, however something else hit her, “Wait, millions of years?”

“Yup. You heard me, millions.” Sonic confirms.

“Man, you must be quite the old geezer, huh?” Sayaka lets out a brief smirk, “Guess you and Mephiles have quite the history… huh?”

“Girl, you have no idea,” Sonic looks over, noticing the paparazzi are occupied with the other Disciples. Just enough time for maybe a quick recap while they go patrolling.

“…Lemme tell you a story.”


	7. Chapter 7: The Sentinels - Part 1

“Quickly, in here. Nobody visits museums anyway.” Sonic gestures to Sayaka, opening a door towards a large stone building in the middle of city.

“Okay?” Sayaka looks both ways, eyeing for any paparazzi before swiftly entering the Station Square National Museum.

With the door shutting, the receptionist greets Sonic with a polite bow. “Welcome back, Sonic. I see you brought a new face. New Disciple?”

“Uh, hey.” Sayaka nervously waves.

“Here’s hoping, Helen. How’s the boyfriend doing?” Sonic nonchalantly asks.

“Chris? Things are going steady, thanks for asking,” Helen nods, “Please enjoy your stay.”

“Will do!” Sonic salutes, walking by the reception area.

Sayaka inches closer and whispers to Sonic. “Hey, don’t we have to pay?”

“Usually, but saving the world countless times does get you a few awesome perks.” Sonic replies before turning to the right, “This way.”

Sonic steps into a different room of the museum with a massive sign above the door. Sayaka glances upwards, noticing what it says.

_SENTINELS EXHIBIT_

With a small exhale, Sayaka walks inside. The first thing she sees is a wooden statue of Sonic in a glass case preserving the carving.

“Pretty neat, huh? Yeah, this was made in the 1800s. Still surprised at how good it still looks. Expected the hand to fall off or something.” Sonic smirks, placing his gloved hand on the glass.

Clearing his throat, Sonic directs Sayaka’s attention to a set of paintings along the walls.

“Aaaanyway, this is what I wanted you to see.”

Sayaka follows the hedgehog to the first painting, showcasing a prestigious watercolor depiction of an island in the middle of the ocean with a castle in the middle. Surrounding the island are pterodactyls, solidifying the fact that despite the architecture, this was indeed a prehistoric time.

“My race was pretty ahead of its time, huh?” Sonic asks, “We made that.”

“No kidding, take away those dinosaurs and I’d think this was during like… the middle ages.” Sayaka points at the castle.

“Yeah. The Sentinels were smart cookies.” Sonic lets out a small, half-hearted smile, “Not saying everything was hunky-dory.”

Sonic grabs Sayaka’s arm, pulling her to the painting. What Sayaka could see is a depiction of the Earth, floating in space. Inside, however are dark red eyes at the core.

“In this world, like… literally inside of this Earth, there’s this demon. He called himself Dark Gaia, he made our race. You can say we’re his children,” Sonic explains. “Made us to be vessels for his endless rage, we were made to always be angry, never stop killing.”

Sayaka glances back at Sonic, shocked. This Sonic person is basically a demon spawn? Can she trust him?

…Then again, he did save her life. He’s got friends, apparently saved this world a lot. And she did turn into a Witch countless times, that’s kind of like being a demon.

Why should she judge?

“Are you the only one who rebelled?” Sayaka asks.

“No, I wasn’t born yet, actually. My entire race rebelled,” Sonic answers, “Funny thing about giving us free will… eventually anger dies out, other emotions come in.”

“Eventually, you’d wanna do something else. Be someone you weren’t intended to be. Our race chose to deny Dark Gaia, use our magical powers and knowledge and jazz to protect the world and watch it grow.”

One pull to another painting later, and Sayaka finds herself face to face with the third painting, showing a group of spherical creatures just like Sonic.

“We called ourselves Sentinels. Some of us were strong with magic, while the other ones were complete tech wizards and invented machines and structures eons ahead of their time.”

Sonic directs Sayaka’s attention to the next piece of art, depicting a fiery landscape. Sentinels armed to the teeth with weapons, glowing with Elemental fury against a legion of snake-like monsters.

“It didn’t mean everything was hunky-dory, though. One day, mutated by Dark Gaia’s essence as revenge for our rebellion, a legion of evil snakes called the Metarex waged war on us. We won, but at a price.”

Sayaka looks down at Sonic, locking eyes with him. “What price?”

“…Some of our soldiers began to become addicted to the war, the killing, the fighting. Especially one general. Can you guess who?”

Sayaka thinks for a moment, her teeth gritted in concentration. It didn’t take long though for her to draw a conclusion, though.

“Mephiles.” She states.

Sonic rubs his gloves together in dread. “Yup… and when the king banished Mephiles for his aggression after the war, he didn’t expect him to come back with some of that extra Dark Gaia juice…”

“And that’s when we all lost.”

The two look at the next painting, the horror fully on display with color and strokes so vivid, it paints its own picture in Sayaka’s mind…


	8. Chapter 8: The Sentinels - Part 2

_150 MILLION YEARS AGO…_

* * *

**MUSIC: THE DARK AND ENDLESS DALEK NIGHT – _DOCTOR WHO_**

* * *

Screams.

That’s all Sonic could hear grounds shake, purple flickering in the air as the lights go out bit by bit. He could only glance away for a moment to see what’s behind them.

The bricks of the great Sentinel Castle, a monument of his race’s promise to protect the Earth… crumbling at the seams as bursts of purple energy rage from the rooms they passed. The island in which the Sentinel race calls home is falling apart.

The screams echoing across the halls, and outside the castle gates are that of the rallying troops of the Sentinel army, falling one-by-one by a single being clouded with rage.

“Don’t look at the halls… look at me, okay sweetie?” A voice tells him, looking out of breath. Sonic’s vision locks onto his mother, sweating as she rounds up the rest of his siblings close together. “Get closer, Cream.”

Pushing one of his adopted sisters back into the group, the nervous rabbit named Cream clutches onto the fur of Blaze. “W-Where are we going, mommy?”

“Somewhere safe. I’m taking you all to the hangar. Just follow your big sister, alright?”

“O-Okay…” Cream trembles, struggling to maintain control as her eyes twitch slightly.

“It’ll be okay.” Blaze strokes her ear, patting the blue plush toy clutched in the bunny’s arm. “Hold onto Cheese, hold her tight.”

Cheese does just that, clutching onto her doll like the world depends on it.

“What about you, mom?” The red Echidna of the family asks. “You and dad are coming, right?”

“We’re generals, Knuckles…” She replies. “It’s our job to keep the world from people like him. We have to fight.”

Taking her steps out of the group, a young pink hedgehog clutches her hammer with a scowl. “I-I’ll fight with you, then!”

She is suddenly stopped though as a black arm pulls her back in. He wags his finger in disapproval. “No, Amy.”

Amy budges herself out of her brother’s grip, looking back up to her mother with a face of defeat.

“Shadow’s right… I can’t drag you all into this.” She tells Amy.

“You’re not gonna stand a chance against him!” Silver gasps out, sweat coating his fur.

The mother looks away, biting her lip.

“…You have to rise against those chances.” Is all she can say, standing straight with renewed confidence.

Sonic could only look at her mom in awe, but it couldn’t be for long as the bloodcurdling scream of another unfortunate soul snaps him out of his daze.

“Come on, move!” Her mom then says before turning around, holding her hand out the pristine form of the Sentinel Sword materializes in her grasp. It ignites with mystical fire as she charges ahead with a battle cry.

“You heard her, everyone! Move!” Blaze then demands, taking the lead to guide the family.

As they venture down the stairs, the floors above shake with the cries and clashes of Sentinel soldiers, holding back this violent intruder.

“Sonic, I need you to open the hangar bay doors.” Blaze tells him. “Activate the sub, we’ll hide underwater.”

“Got it!” Sonic complies, taking off in a gust of wind.

“I hope he knows where the sub is…” Tails could only comment.

Meanwhile, Sonic dashes across the different floors of the castle. The further he explores, the darker it gets. After seconds of hastily dodging falling pieces of the ceiling and jumping over toppled equipment, his feet skids to a halt upon reaching the final floor. Pushing the steel door open with his strength, he comes face to face with the hangar.

Primitive cars, jets and tanks line themselves across the room, showcasing how eons ahead the Sentinel race is.

“Sub, sub, sub, sub…” Sonic repeats to himself, running in place, eyes darting across the floor.

However, it won’t be long until this hangar falls apart like the rest of the castle. The faint rumbling is only getting closer, the smaller vehicles shaking under the brief tremors of the island. Fumbling towards a hatch on the floor, Sonic turns the valves until it gives way.

A large tile of the floor opens up, revealing the top of a grey spherical submarine. Painted on its hull is the Sentinel logo: Two navy crescent moons encircling a sphere with piercing red eyes. Under it is the name of the vehicle _, Nomad_.

Harnessing his elemental control over wind, Sonic uses it to leap into the air (avoiding the ladder right next to him) and jump into the Nomad’s interior.

Immediately strapping himself into a seat, Sonic couldn’t help but tap his feet. Will Blaze and the others make it? Did they die on the way? What if they were so close, but Sonic wasn’t there when they were-

“Sonic?”

Sonic breathes a hasty sigh of relief at hearing Blaze’s voice.

“Hey, I’m in here!” He calls out from the Nomad, the sounds of his family scurrying up the ladder being heard. The first flying in naturally, is Tails.

“I’ll take this fella for a spin. Strap in, quick!” Tails calls out.

“How close is he?” Sonic asks the fox.

Blaze answers, jumping down onto the sub’s floor. “Close enough. We have to go!”

Tails scrambles to power up the Nomad, all the others taking their seats and preparing to go under. “Alright, engine’s up. We’re heading down!” He exclaims, pulling a final lever.

The hatch seals up and the restraints tethering the sub to the island loosening. The Nomad then proceeds to fall into the water below.

However, no amount of protection could shield the group from yet another earth shattering tremor. The water shakes furiously from the impact of the fight above.

“Is Mommy gonna be okay…?” Cream asks again, still holding onto Cheese for dear life.

“I…” Sonic opens his mouth, trying to make sense of what’s going on… let alone assure his youngest sibling. “I… don’t know…”

“Guys? You might wanna check this out.” Tails announces.

Peering out of the translucent windows, they notice the once clear blue waters start to illuminate a slight purple.

That’s only consuming the sea more, and more…

“Impossible… no Sentinel can do that!” Silver gasps. “Nobody has that power!”

“Can do what?!” Knuckles barks out.

“I’ve researched this… It’s a Purge Wave!” Silver gasps out. “One blast can cover the entire planet! The effects on the island ALONE could be…”

“Catastrophic…” Shadow whispers out.

“Brace for impact!” Tails closes his eyes, submerging the Nomad even deeper into the ocean depths.

Everyone closes their eyes, purple engulfing the sea as…

…

…….

…………………..

For a moment, everything felt weightless, no sound could be heard, and nothing can be seen. Just a blinding light. Then, the sound soon followed.

The deafening screech of the explosion penetrates the sub’s hull as the sea’s turbulence causes the Nomad to tumble through coral and seaweed uncontrollably.

Then, as quickly as it happened… it stops. The Nomad repositions as everyone regains their bearings.

“Is everyone okay?!” Sonic asks, jumping out of the seat and checking on everyone onboard. Aside from maybe a few scrapes… they seem alright for the most part.

  
Everyone, except for Blaze, who are nowhere in their seats.

“Blaze!” Sonic looks all over before eventually finding her in the back of the ship’s hull. She’s lying down, unconscious from being flung out of her seat… probably from shielding Cream.

The Nomad meanwhile slowly rises out of the water, reaching the surface to reveal the island from the windows.

The island as they knew it is still standing… but the castle?

Nothing more than a pile of scorched bricks. As the sub inches closer to the once great home of heroes, everyone peers from the windows to check for any source of life.

No plants, no trees… no animals of any kind.

Not a single Sentinel.

“Where’d they all go…?” Knuckles asks.

“Nothing could’ve survived a Purge Wave.” Silver gulps. “Dark Gaia used it long ago to reset the Earth… No one on the surface survived.”

Washing up on the sand, the hatch opens up as the remaining Sentinels crawl out one by one. “Hello?! Anyone?” Tails asks as he floats up.

Sonic meanwhile finishes up placing Blaze back on her seat to rest. “We’ll come back for you, okay?” He assures his sister before climbing back up.

Once he lands, he turns to the rest of the team. “Anything?”

“Nobody…” Tails could only sigh out. “They’re all… dead.”

“No… No, you’re kidding me, right?” Sonic asks. “There’s no way they’re gone! I mean… we took out the Metarex, how can-“

“Look around, Sonic!” Tails then exclaims, gesturing to the barren wasteland that was once their home. “Do you see anyone?! I don’t think so!”

“Mom and Dad, though! They’re the strongest of the army! Maybe they’re still out there! We gotta check the castle!” Knuckles runs off, holding off hope.

“Knuckles, wait!” Sonic reaches out, but he found himself rushing towards the castle too…

Eventually, the siblings crawl across the ashes of the fallen kingdom, making it to the top until all they see at the summit… is the Sentinel Sword, with the blade lodged in the middle.

It stands without an owner, without a soul to bond and materialize itself to.

Nobody could say a word as they gather around the sword, confirming that the worst has happened.

They are all that’s left of the Sentinels.

Tears start to well up in everyone’s eyes, mutters of “no”, and “I’m sorry” being shared amongst their grief… Sonic looks ahead, his eyes stained before noticing a limp creature on the floor… struggling to get up.

He’s crystalline in nature, holding an equally crystalized axe.

What was once stained with tears is now consumed by anger.

* * *

**MUSIC: I AM THE DOCTOR – _DOCTOR WHO_**

* * *

“You!” Sonic points towards the hedgehog. “You did this!”

The monster slowly turns around. “Survivors…! Of course there would be!”

“You killed my parents! You killed everyone!” Sonic steps forward, kicking several bricks away.

“Sonic, what are you-“ Silver asks out, but not before Amy could step up.

“You’re gonna pay for what you did!” Amy growls, gripping her hammer with malicious intent.

“They paid the price!” Mephiles calls out. “They ignored who they were, and became soft! I’m free of their control now… and I won’t let a couple of children take it away from me!”

“O-Oh yeah?!”

Sonic turns around, looking at the sword. He then glances at his hand before swiftly reaching for it. The minute he touches the hilt, he feels power coursing through his veins. He falls to his knees slightly, overwhelmed by the energy.

His eyes flicker gold, his mind filled with thoughts instilled onto him by the sword. He must prove worthy of its power!

Struggling, wincing and gritting his teeth, Sonic starts to slowly unsheathe the sword.

“What? That’s impossible! There’s no way anyone could wield that sword!” Mephiles readies his axe, bewildered at Sonic’s willpower.

“Sometimes… You have to rise…!” Sonic could only grunt out, unable to say the rest. Eventually, the sword rises out of the ashes, gold engulfing the family with energy.

“…Who are you?!” Mephiles exclaims, angerly.

Stepping out of the light, sword in tow, Sonic points it towards the murderer.

“I’m Sonic…”

“… _Sonic The Hedgehog!”_


	9. Chapter 9: Awkward Connections

“That’s… sorta how it all began with me,” Sonic shrugs, passing by yet another acrylic depiction of his history. “That sword gave us immortality, and Mephiles and I remained enemies for… eons at this point.”

“I had the remaining Sentinels, and got an army called the Metarex and we kept fighting, and fighting… blow after blow until-“

Holding her hand up, hand rubbing her temple, Sayaka proceeds to shake her head.

“Look, your story is… interesting and all that, but what is the point of all this?” Sayaka asks, a small bit of annoyance on her face. “Dragging me to this museum, giving me your life story… I-I just wanna go home.”

Sonic squints for a moment, letting out an unamused grimace. “Look, kid. You kinda asked.”

“I-I know, I know, I…” Sayaka takes a deep breath, tugging on her bangs for a moment.

Sonic exhales, himself, dragging his right foot across the floor. “This is gonna be harder than I thought.”

“I get it,” He mellows out. “You’re stressed… anxious, totally out of your element, I’ve been there, really.”

“This is my first rodeo too in a long time, you know? Usually everyone I get is all caught up, and taught, and ready for duty before I even lift a finger.”

The small, spherical hedgehog clicks his tongue. “It’s tough for both of us.”

The two then mutually shut their mouths, silent… neither exchanging any words as they ponder over themselves.

Eventually to break the awkward silence, Sonic coughs. “Museum’s pretty nice though, right?”

“Yeah…” Is all Sayaka could declare.

Silence again.

Sonic’s eyes droop down, discouraged by his attempts to just get this new recruit to open up. “After all of this, though.” He gestures to the room. “The glitz, glamor and… constant fighting here, in this world, something made me leave that behind.”

“Voices called me, a portal opened… and I took the dive. That’s how it all began with me and The Disciples.”

Sayaka turns her head, raising her eyebrow. “Voice… I heard that, too.”

“Told me it’s like, I am the one.”

“Told me the same thing too.” Sonic lets out a small chuckle. “Real generic omnipresent banter.”

“But that’s why I gotta look out for you, kid. If those voices say you’re what this realm needs right now, it’s up to me to help you prove it.”

Sonic nudges the girl, his elbow hitting just a little above her waist. “Just don’t sweat it, okay? This is your chance to be a hero.”

“That is… if you wanna be one. I think you got the chops.”

That question has Sayaka look at her hand, opening and closing her palm. Her fingers emanate just the slightest flicker of gold, bringing out this strange new power within herself.

“I always wanted to. But-“

“Then we’re set!” Sonic rubs his gloved hands, turning to his watch. “And just in time, too! Our ride’s here!”

“Ride?” Sayaka asks, putting down her arm.

“We’re going home, Sayaka.” Sonic then tells her, turning on his heel to face the door. “A new home.”

“T-That wasn’t what I meant be going home, you know!” Sayaka exclaims, walking after him.


	10. Chapter 10: It's Thinking

“Right, so where is everyone?”

Stepping out of the museum, Sonic scrolls his eyes among the legion of paparazzi still crowding the streets of Station Square.

Luckily, it did not take that long to find the rest of his squad considering one of the members is a giant hulking green man and a bright red alien robot.

“Alright, alright, picture and headline time’s over people! We gotta head out!” Sonic holds his hands out, alerting the masses. “Been fun being home and all, but we gotta take the newbie back to base!”

One intrepid reporter speaks up, holding a microphone at the still overwhelmed Sayaka. “We still have questions though! Is this the rumored second Golden One?”

Sayaka gulps, holding a finger out for a moment.

“Uh…”

“Yes, this is the one we’ve been waitin’ for… but she ain’t exactly in the question answering mood.” Sonic wags his finger. “So, save the questions for later, kay?”

Complying with the hedgehog’s instructions, the groups of reporters step away much to Sayaka’s surprise. This Sonic fellow, due to being this city’s protector for what is probably the entire city’s history has garnered him a lot of respect among the residents.

Regrouping with the others, Sonic takes notice that Neptune is once again among them, now enjoying a delicious ice cream treat.

“How’s it taste?” Sonic asks, nudging the lilac haired young girl.

“Mmmm! Deeeelish!” Neptune squeals with glee.

Sonic then redirects his attention to the others. “Damage report.”

“Zero casualties, thankfully. Although a couple injuries from some Droid misfires.” Optimus Prime states.

“Are they being treated?” Sonic then runs down, looking over to Iron Man.

“Friday contacted the hospital.” Tony replies, pointing to the helmet which contains his suit’s AI. “Some ambulances arrived during all those interviews.”

He then takes a long look at Sonic and Sayaka, moving his finger from pointing between the two. “Where… were you two, anyway?”

“Museum. Lots of exposition.” Sonic points to the structure they just left from.

“And leave us hanging swarmed by mics and cameras? Not fair, dude.” Spyro shakes his head.

“I dunno, I kinda liked it.” Tony replies, folding his arms.

Spyro lets out a small chuckle. “Course you did.”

“I did too… kinda.” Kai then shrugs, taking Tony’s side… albeit “kinda” taking his side.

Iron Man nods at the fire Ninja. “Thanks… kinda?”

“We done here?” Sonic snaps his fingers, trying to catch their attention. “Because Sayaka here… your name’s Sayaka, right?”

“Y-Yeah…” The bluenette nods.

“Makin’ sure. So, Sayaka here has gotta go through orientation. So we better haul our behinds back to base. Where’s the Dreamcast?”

Spyro’s neck cranes to the side, trying to look at the dispersing crowd of people. “Think I saw it dock at that parking lot over there…” He states pointing is claw ahead, across a driveway.

Walking along to reach their destination, Sayaka’s eyes widen at what awaits them at the parking lot…

“What the hell is that?” She asks, bewildered at what lies before her.

It’s a giant orange spherical ship, a clean orb only adorned with a large visor-like window in the front. On its sides are equally spherical thrusters and a small turret on the top. It almost looks like something pulled from a 1960s Sci-Fi film.

“That… is the Dreamcast.” Sonic introduces.

Protruding from the orb, almost as if a door is carving itself from the seamless exterior, an opening reveals itself and folds out a set of stairs.

This may be technology, but for Sayaka this display alone feels no different than the magic that populates her world.

Now is not the time to question how it works though (not that Sayaka would probably understand the mechanics behind it all anyway), as everyone starts to squeeze into the door.

Which however rises a different question.

The Hulk and Optimus… they seem to be as half big as that ship. How would they even fit inside with everyone else?

Even as Sayaka witnesses the door expand to accommodate their size… it could still be a tight fit. So how could they…?

Her inquiries once again grind to a halt as it becomes her turn to enter the ship. Once the interior becomes known to her, her question is answered.

“It’s… bigger on the inside!” She could only exclaim.

She walks down a wide hallway, undoubtably larger than any airplane. Hell, probably larger than even four planes.

She looks up, the ceiling being much higher than it possibly should be, providing plenty of moving room for the massive warriors.

“You can think Gallifreyan technology for that, sister!”

Sayaka snaps her head to look back. Taking notice of a pilot’s chair surrounded by a giant control desk, the seat swivels around to reveal a yellow, slightly orange creature just like Sonic.

The only difference being that this one has two tails and visible ears.

“A real beaut, ain’t she?”

Sonic clears his throat, gesturing to the fox. “Sayaka, this is my brother Tails.”

“Nice to meet ya, kid.” Tails gives a small salute. “You’re the next big cheese, huh?”

“And I suppose you made this ship?” Sayaka asks him.

“Honey, let me tell you. I do more than make ships.” Tails swivels back to the controls, flipping a couple switches. “I’ll be makin’ your gear too.”

“My gear?” Sayaka tilts her head.

“What, you’re gonna fight evil in a school uniform? Gimmie a break.” Tails chuckles to himself. “Heh, that’s a good one.”

“I’m already getting ideas, kid. No stoppin’ the mind when the gears are turning. IIIIIt’s thinking!”

Sayaka squints her eyes before turning to Sonic. “He seems nice.”

“He’s… not the best with meeting new people.” Sonic pats her on the back. “He’ll warm up.”

“Whaddaya talking about, I’m charming!” Tails raises his finger. “I’m just speaking the truth here!”

“Just take a seat, someone’s trying to dock a Chevy in my spot. So we better get moving.” Tails then comments.

Complying, Sayaka shuffles over to one of the leather seats. As she straps in, she turns to the side. For a second or two, all she could stare at is an orange wall. However after a moment, just like the door, the wall carves itself open like a soft sponge cake and vanishes. Now instead, she is facing a newly formed window.

“Next stop, The Golden Skylands.” Tails announces over the intercom. “Buckle up, lackies.”

The Dreamcast shakes as the engine revs up, the thrusters release a burst of energy as the ship rises into the air. Sayaka could see the parking lot slowly disappear from view to be replaced by skies and the faint glimpses of cities beyond.

As Sayaka gets a good look of the view ahead of her, she could only think about Madoka.

Is she okay?

Does Madoka even know where Sayaka is? Can she see her?

Does she even know about these Disciples to begin with?

“Rift Engines online, beginning portal construction now. VMU in position…”

The cannon atop the ship, the Vehicular Mounted Utility takes aim and fires a glowing navy orb a couple dozen meters away from the Dreamcast. The orb then erupts, opening a spinning blue rift ahead of the ship’s flight path.

“You’re in for a real light show, kid!”

As instructed, Sayaka braces herself.

The thrusters rotate to face the ship’s back, kicking its engines to overdrive and launching the Dreamcast to full speed.

Sayaka finds herself thrown back slightly, letting out an alarmed grunt as the Dreamcast engulfs itself into the depths of the rift, closing behind them.


	11. Chapter 11: Dismissed

**MUSIC: DECIPHERING THE SIGNAL – _TRANSFORMERS_**

* * *

Crystalline hands drum against the armrests of a throne. Not a single word is uttered is heard. Just the drumming echoing through the throne room’s hallway. Kneeling before their master, Cad Bane and Lockdown scowl under their breath, humiliated but not willing to evoke any wrath from the one who sits above them.

“To think I entrusted you with a simple duty. Kill the girl.” Mephiles then speaks up. “You had one mission, arguably the most important mission of this entire faction’s history.”

“Are you proud of yourselves? You let the entire Metarex down.”

Mephiles stands down and slowly floats down from his chair before landing on the silk carpet. “And to think you called yourselves the best hunters ever written.”

“Sir…” Cad Bane finally grumbles, raising his head to face the hedgehog’s venomous glare. “We never had time to prepare, she just fell from the-“

His plea did not last long, as Mephiles reaches for the alien’s throat, silencing him. A cold wind blows through the room as Cad Bane’s hat whisks off his blue head and floats to the ground.

“Our forces outnumbered the Disciples’ squadron 6 to 1 back there. Even without warning, you had more than enough time to make sure I struck her down before they got to the ship! So, don’t even think of pulling the preparation card on me!”

Lockdown then pinches Cad by the legs, his massive stature becoming easy to pry his partner away from Mephiles’ grasp. Yanking him back to the ground, Lockdown looks down at his superior.

“We won’t fail again, Lord Mephiles. One way or another, that girl will die!”

Mephiles shakes off his hand, disappointed by Lockdown’s interference in his discipline. His hands ball up into fists, purple energy crackling throughout his arm with rage. Now is the hedgehog’s turn to scowl before looking down, his sneer turning back into a frown.

The power building up within him dies down, whatever composure he has returning to him.

“You’re lucky I still have use for you.” He then points to the massive door behind them. “Dismissed, await your next operation.”

Lockdown nods before turning around and departing, nudging Cad with his foot. “Come on, Bug Eyes.”

Cad Bane coughs, rubbing his throat and retrieving his hat, adjusting it just right. Grumbling, he dismissively follows the Cybertronian out of Mephiles’ quarters.

Stepping back to his throne, Mephiles sits back down, drumming once again. After a couple minutes, the door then opens back up to reveal a blue robed beaked sorcerer floating up to the leader with some kind of steel case.

“Ah, Kamek. My loyal informant!” Mephiles beckons with glee. “Please tell me you have brought some good news!”

“I have retrieved what you requested, my lord!” Kamek bows, handing the case over. “Didn’t take much searching in the Outlands library to get it, but this should be all you need to know about our new friend!”

The metal case is sealed with a glowing Metarex insignia of a pointed purple crown encased in a circle. Holding his hand out, Mephiles’ magic unlocks the seal, the case fading away to reveal the contents inside. It is two Blu-Ray covers stacked atop each other with five girls posing on the art. Front and center is the name of the product at hand…

_PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA: THE COMPLETE SERIES_

Mephiles then moves the top case to the right to observe the Blu-Ray below it.

_PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA MOVIE 3: REBELLION_

“Hope you enjoy your little research session, master! Heheheheh…!” Kamek cackles.

Mephiles lets out a small chuckle. “Indeed I will. It’s only a matter of time before this… Sayaka girl is fully trained. It’s time I do a little training of my own.”

Mephiles opens the cases to reveal the discs inside and hands them over to the wizard. “Cue them. Then prepare to send notes to the orientation division.”

“Let us all find out how insignificant she really is.”

The throne rotates, facing the wall as it opens up to reveal a massive screen. Kamek flies out with the discs in hand as the projection starts to play.

* * *

Meanwhile in the mess hall of the Metarex ship, Cad Bane slams the table in rage.

“Stupid hedgehog!” He spits, letting out his grievances.

“The blue one or the purple one?” The robot Ultron asks, grinning at seeing the once skilled hunter in disarray.  
  


“Both of ‘em!” Cad shoos off with his hand. “Making me look like a fool like that.”

Sipping a glass of an alcoholic beverage, Boba Fett looks over to his rival. “He should’ve put me on the case, but you so insisted this morning.”

“So much for being the one determined to quote unquote, eliminate the new Golden One, huh?”

“Shut up, Fett.” Cad sneers at the Mandalorian.

Just then, Ultron’s sensors hear something echoing at a across the hall that he pinpoints as Mephiles’ room.

_Kawashita yakusoku wasurenai yo me o toji tashikameru…_


	12. Chapter 12: The Golden Skylands

**MUSIC – THEMYSCIRA – _WONDER WOMAN 1984_**

* * *

Speeding through the brilliant blue dimensional tunnel, Sayaka could only stare in awe at what she is witnessing. When she fell through that vortex earlier, she only got a brief glimpse of this alluring bridge between worlds before falling into slumber. Now she could see it in all its glory.

…And just how much it gave her a slight headache.

Her eyes struggle to keep up with all the white squares speeding past her in the blink of an eye. Whatever she could catch is the faintest of images of fantastical worlds… passing by hundreds in a second.

“Not even the Law of Cycles is this trippy looking!” Sayaka winces.

“Told ya.” Tails smirks from behind the wheel, observing Sayaka from an overhead mirror. “Hell of a light show.”

“These are all different worlds, right? I can’t really tell with how fast they’re going, but I think they are?” She then asks.

“Each and every one of ‘em.” Sonic says.

He then begins pointing to each one that passes by, his super speed not just extending to his feet when he does.

“There’s Gotham City, Far Far Away, that weird underground world in Space Jam, the Hoenn Region, New York, New York, New York, New York…”

Sonic frowns for a moment.

“…It just hit me how many worlds have New York City as the center of everything.”

_BWOOOM!_

_BWOOOOOOOM!_

The Dreamcast alarm blares, snapping everyone into attention.

“Light at the end of the tunnel, prepping for re-entry guys!” Tails then calls out, flipping a couple switches and levers.

“Finally!” Kai sighs, slumping into his seat. “Woke up early in the morning for this mission, I need some sleep!”

“Seriously?” Spyro asks from the seat across him.

“Hey, I at least wanted to be the first to see her for myself! Once in a lifetime chance! Moment the alarms went off, I woke up and forced myself to get changed!”

“Well, if you’re awake General, you might as well help show the new recruit arou-“ Commander Trace asks before having his suggestion silenced with the sound of snores from the Fire Ninja.

“Zzzzzzz…”

Trace sighs.

“You know, I can’t tell if he’s tired… or trying to avoid more work.” Iron Man shrugs. “What about Neptu-“

The Avenger turns around to the seat where the lilac-haired girl lies, greeted with an expected response.

“Zzzzzz…”

“Oh, of course.” Tony frowns.

The blue hues of the vortex slowly change, hints of gold slowly engulfing the rift before opening up in a flash.

“Ack…!” Sayaka shields her eyes from the brightness before moving her hands away to look back at the window. Now all she sees is white.

Not just white, but texture. Something light, fluffy, almost ethereal.

Clouds. Clouds giving way to the shape of the Dreamcast’s spherical shape as it lifts upwards into the skies above. For a moment, just a fleeting moment… she thinks she is home.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Golden Skylands.” Tails declares, introducing Sayaka to this bold new realm.

An endless sea of floating islands, accompanied by an armada’s worth of spaceships, aircrafts, hot air balloons and any kind of airborne vehicle one can possibly envision from the depths of their imagination. They fly from island to island, docking to pick up their inhabitants.

Sayaka could only lean forward against her seat in awe, pressing against the impenetrable glass. “Whoaaa!”

Her eyes lock on one island, seeing a flying monorail dock by a wide rectangular island. Many people and creatures of different shapes and sizes climb aboard and-

“H-Hey, hold up, is that Sailor Moon?!” Sayaka squints, noticing a blonde girl with long twin tails among the crowds of characters she only sees on TV. “I loved Sailor Moon as a kid! Used to wake up every Saturday morning and-”

“Ah.”

She then awkwardly stops in her ramble glancing over at all the other passengers. Self-consciousness easily creeps back up to her. She blushes slightly and clears her throat.

“Right, uhh.. Is everyone down there Disciples?”

“Not all of ‘em. Every day, multiverses are thrown out of wack. If a universe out there is exposed to evil way out of its league, _Golden Skylanders_ are sent out to take care of ‘em.” Tony replies. “This whole realm is filled with… er, heroes, for lack of a better term who are bred and trained for this sort of gig.”

“And Disciples? We’re the best of the best of them. Cream of the crop. As elite as you can get. You get the point.”

Sayaka takes one more look out the window, letting out a brief chuckle. “Oh, I get it alright.”

The Dreamcast approaches a massive floating stone arch. Atop it, adorning the gateway is the signature Disciples insignia as a stone statue: Four segmented pieces of a circle encompassed by wings. Below it is the location’s designation:

_THE RUINS._

Come to think of it, Sayaka could have sworn she saw a logo very similar to that on her Wii before… but not quite.

Either way, it’s a perfect indicator as to the Disciples’ importance to this civilization.

Zooming past the arch, more stone statues hover beside the ship to welcome them back. A statue on the left, another parallel on the right for each row they pass by. Some being carvings of the very same heroes riding with Sayaka right now.

Iron Man, Optimus Prime, Spyro, among many others she hasn’t met. But she could pinpoint a few from TV.

Eventually, the final statue on the left reveals itself, a golden recreation of the Sentinel himself: Sonic. On the right…

…Nothing, just an empty golden pedestal. Sayaka frowns, already piecing together what this means.

“You guys really have been waiting for me all this time, huh?” She turns away from the window.

“Yup. We just needed to know who you were gonna be!” Tails says. “Gotta say, dead anime girl was not the first thing I thought of.”

“I don’t think any of us did, sir.” Trace says before observing Sayaka’s distraught expression. He coughs to change the subject slightly.

“Not saying we’re not open to surprises…”

The Dreamcast approaches a massive island. The thrusters revert into landing positions as a robotic replica of Sonic uses glowsticks sprouting from his arm cannons to park them into positions. Slowly but surely the Dreamcast finally lands, and the doors open.

“Right, time for the grand entrance. Lemme set the tone.” Sonic pats Sayaka swiftly on the back before sliding off the seats and making his way down the hall. “Let’s rock and roll!”

Stepping out of the Dreamcast to face a massive crowd of eager Disciples, Sonic holds out his hand to the nearby cockpit, Tails grabbing a microphone and slipping it into his mitts.

The VMU cannon positions itself to face the gathering, feedback of the mic playing out of it as Sonic taps it with his finger to test.

“Thanks, everyone for gathering here on short notice! We were all surprised when we got that alert of Golden Energy landing right smack-dab in my backyard! But thanks to Team Sonic…”

The hedgehog pauses for dramatic effect, taking a deep breath.

“…We got her!”

A barrage of cheers sound out from across the island. Sonic cockily performs a mic drop, much to Tails’ dismay.

“Hey, hey, hey! Watch the merchandise!” Tails rants.

One by one, the Disciples onboard leave the oversized opening… which is required to let robots like Optimus through.

Even Kai and Neptune begrudgingly step out, waving with one hand and rubbing their exhausted eyes with the other.

They are greeted to sounds of cheering, whooping and welcoming back from a job well done on such a historic mission from heroes ranging from Mr. Incredible to Yu Narukami.

Lastly, Sayaka nervously takes her first few steps out of the ship into a whole new world. She dusts off her skirt, adjusts her bow… are her hairpins on right? It’s too late for that!

She swallows her fear and heads into the light.


End file.
